Universal head for controlling clamshell bucket and similar material handling devices



P. F. BRITTON Dec. 6, 1955 UNIVERSAL HEAD FOR CONTROLLING CLAMSHELL BUCKET AND SIMILAR MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICES Filed April 22, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Pzulilfflriion MW; M9

ATTORNEYS Dec. 6, 1955 BRITTON 2,725,996

UNIVERSAL HEAD FOR CONTROLLING CLAMSHELL BUCKET AND SIMILAR MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICES Filed April 22, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fan a Z 1'. Briitwz ATTORNEYS Dec. 6, 1955 P. F. BRITTON 2,725,996

UNIVERSAL HEAD FOR CONTROLLING CLAMSHELL BUCKET AND SIMILAR MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICES Filed April 22, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I /a 2/ I5 5/ 52 28 3a 9 4 27' 3/.z 2 f 1] n IHII is QJ J /3 INVENTOR Pt a (1: .Brl't'i'on ATTORNEYS United States Patent Qfitice UNIVERSAL HEAD FOR CONTROLLING CLAM- SHELL BUCKET AND SIMILAR MATERIAL HAN DLING DEVICES Paul F. Britton, Clarksburg, W. Va.

Application April 22, 1953, Serial No. 350,384

6 Claims. (Cl. 214--147) This invention relates to power shovels, and more particularly to attachments to the booms of power shovels.

Specifically, this invention relates to means secured to the dipper stick of a power shovel for imparting multidirectional movement to digging devices secured to the end portion of the dipper stick. This device is intended to be used in the art of excavating earth and handling material when such work requires the use of a conventional power shovel, back hoe, crane, dragline or related excavating and material handling equipment.

In excavating and related work it is often desirable to be able to manipulate the digging tool attached to the end of the powershovel dipper stick so as to obtain a better bite, to approach the work at a more advantageous angle, or to obtain better leverage in order to more easily pry loose some obstacle which is impeding the progress of the excavation in a particular vicinity. Present attachments to power shovels such as clamshell buckets, scoops, back hoes, and draglines are subject to very limited control by the operator of the shovel. For the most part, control is limited, independent of the movement of the dipper stick, to slight pivotal movement in a vertical plane about the end of the dipper stick. For instance, the ordinary bucket on a power shovel is usually rigidly secured to its supporting dipper stick, although these buckets are sometimes pivotally hinged on the end of the dipper stick so as to afford some slight control over the disposition of the bucket within a vertical plane.

With the present development, all of the implements secured to the dipper stick are not only pivotable in a vertical plane about the end of the dipper stick, but are also rotatable about their own axes. Therefore, in combination this pivotal and rotatable movement enables the power shovel operator to execute far greater control over the operation and use of his digging means than has heretofore been possible.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a dipper stick attachable to the boom of a power shovel having a universal head secured to one end so as to impart multi-directional motion to a digging device secured thereto.

Itis a further object of this invention to provide a dipper stick. having a universal head secured to one end, which is pivotally attachable to the free end of the boom of a 'power shovel.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a dipper stick embodying this invention.

Figure 1A is a fragmentary view similar to that of Figure 1 and showing the digging implement pivoted upwardly and rotated ninety degrees.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of one preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of this invention having parts in section.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the invention taken on the line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of another preferred embodiment of the invention, and

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the invention taken on the line 66 of Figure 5.

In the drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration, are shown preferred embodiments of this invention the numeral 10 (Figure 1) indicates generally the invention which comprises the dipper stick 11, a universal head 12 and a digging means 13 attached to one end of the universal head.

It is to be noted that in this preferred embodiment of the invention, the dipper stick 11 s pivotally secured intermediate its top end portion 14 and its bottom end portion 15 to the free end of power shovel boom A. Hydraulic means B only partially shown in this figure, is pivotally secured at one end to the boom A and at the other end to the dipper stick end 14, whereby an actuation of the piston C of. hydraulic cylinder B will cause the dipper stick to pivotally turn about a connecting pin 16, joining the dipper stick 11 to the free end 17 of boom A. A second pivotal connecting pin.18 secures the universal head 12 to the end portion 15 of dipper stick 11. A second hydraulic cylinder 19 has one end pivotally secured to a dipper stick bracket 20 and .has its piston 21 pivotally secured to the top surface 22a of the universal head 12.

Referring now to Figure 4, the universal head 12 is housed by an annular base plate 22 and a concentric bottom plate 23 which are spaced apart by a ring gear segment 32 and plain ring segment 50, and which are integrally secured together by means of a series of bolts 24 and nuts 25 placed in locking engagement about the peripheries of the base plate 22 and the bottom plate 23.

A pair of upstanding lugs 26 (Figures 2 and 5) are integrally secured to top portion 22a of base plate 22 for pivotally receiving the bottom end 15 of dipper stick 11 therebetween whereby this end 15 is secured to the upstanding lugs 26 by means of connecting pin 18.

A second pair of upstanding lugs 27 are integrally secured to the top face 22a of base plate 22 for pivotally receiving the piston 21 of hydraulic cylinder 19 by means of connecting pin 28. An arcuate slot 29 (Figure 2) is provided in base plate 22, the purpose for which will be set forth and become apparent hereinafter.

Immediately beneath base plate 22 (Figures 2, 3 and 4) a sun gear 30 is rotatably secured thereto by means of bottom plate 23 and sun gear shaft 31, which isin mating engagement with a recess 31a in base plate 22.

An internal ring gear segment 32 is integrally secured intermediate base plate 22 and bottom plate 23, and is located on the periphery of these plates by means of bolts 24 and nuts 25. This gear segment is spaced apart laterally from and is concentric with sun gear 30. Intermediate sun gear 30 and ring gear 32 is a planetary pinion gear 33 of sufficient diameter to make meshing tooth engagement with both the sun gear and the ring gear. The arcuate slot 29 of base plate 22 is aligned over the path described by the axis of the pinion gear 33 as this pinion gear is made to revolve in meshing engagement with ring gear 32. Pinion shaft 34 is integrally secured to pinion 33 and upstanding therefrom so as to project upwardly through arcuate slot 29. This pinion shaft is braced and guided for movement in arcu ate slot 29 by means of a pair of sliding shoe plates 35 and 36 (Figures 2 and 4). The upper shoe plate 35 is in sliding engagement with the top surface 22a of base plate 22, and the bottom shoe plate 36 is in sliding engagement within a recess 37 formed to receive this Patented Dec. 6, 1955 bottom shoeLplate 36.so ias to be flush with the bottom surfaces38 of base plate 22. It is to be noted that sun gear 30, ring gear 32, and. pinion gear 33 are all of the same thickness and lie in the same plane defined by bottomrsnrface 38 'of base plate 22, so that the'bottom surfaces'of these gears-are inncontact. with the top surfacez39- of bottom plate 23. The upper and lower faces of gears and 33 arein'sliding contact with bottom surface :38 of base plate 22 and top surface 39 of bottom plate 23.

A-second 'hydraulic cylinder 40 (Figures 2 and 3) having a piston 41 is secured to the top face of base plate22,' and hydraulic cylinder piston 41 is pivotally connected ton-link'42'by a connecting pin 43 Link 42 is' in turn' pivotallysecured to top face 22a ofbase plate 22 by pin 44, rand 'is pivotally connected to link 45 byimeans oficonnecting pin 46; Connecting pin. 45 is in turn pivotally secured to the top portion of pinion shaft 34A Thusit maybe seen that when piston 41 is causednto expand from or drawn to hydrauliccylinder 40-,'link- 42Iis pivoted about pin 44 which acts as a fulcrum, With link 42- pivoting about pin 44, link' 45 is accordinglymade to move approximately in a direction opposite: to that of movement of piston 41, wherein pinion shaft 34'causes pinion gear 33 to roll' in meshed engagement with internal ring gear 32, therebycausing sun gear 30 to revolve in the opposite direction to that of the pinion gear. The teeth in the ring gear, pinion gearand sun gear are: so designed that movement of pinion gear-33 throughan arcuate path of 90- degrees will cause the sun. gear 30 to rotate through an arcuate pathof 180 degrees, as is apparent from an examination ofthe: gears shown'in Figure 3. Greater arcuate traverse of pinion gear 33 will cause a proportionately greater rotation ofsunl gear: 30, the ratio of radian'movement ofwthe'pinion gear 33 to the sun gear 30=is approximately one to-two .inthis preferred embodiment.

Forrthe purpose-of utilizing this rotational movement of'the sun gear 30; a pair of depending lugs 47(Figure 4) areintegrally secured to the bottom face of the sungear- 3t for attaching any suitable digging means 13 to the universal head 12, such as by means of connecting pin 48.

Operation In view of the above detailed description of this invention, it may now be readily understood :that this device provides means wherein any tool secured to the bottom of .a dipperstick-may be given pivotal movement inra vertical planeas well as rotational movement about a radius of the arcuate path described by the pivotal movement.

For instance, the entire universal head 12and attached implement 13 can be swung througha great are lying inia. vertical 'plane by the'control of hydraulic cylinder B '(Figure l) linked to the end portion 14 of dipper stick 11 by means of hydraulic piston C. For more precise, and accurately controlled arcuate movement by means of suitable controls well known in the art, hydraulic cylinder 19' may be caused to expand or contract hydraulicpiston 21, whereby the universal head 12 is pivotally moved through an arcuate path of much smaller radius than-that described by the dipper stick 11 when pivoting about pin 16. Concurrent with, orfollowing movement of, the universal head 12 through the smaller arcuate path, actuation of hydraulic cylinder 40 to cause hydraulic cylinder piston 41 to expand or contract will, through suitable linkage 42and 45, cause sun gear 30 to rotatean implement 13 depending therefrom, about an axis which is a radius ofthe smaller arcuate patln When hydraulic cylinders 19 and. 40 are actuatedconcurrently, a veryunique and useful motion of the implement is obtained which is not obtainable by any presently known attachment to a power shovel dipper stick;

Where it is desirable to have 360 degree rotation of the attached implement 13, an alternative-preferred embodiment of this invention may be used as shown in Figures 5 and 6.

This device is similar to the above described device in that it has a base plate 22, a bottom plate 23, sun gear 30 and pinion gear 33. The apparatus for connecting the universal head 12 to dipper stick 11 is substantially alike in every respect as is the apparatus depending from sun gear 30 for securing a suitable implement thereto, as has been shown and described above relativeitothe first discussed embodiment of the invention.

ln this second embodiment, however, there is no ring gear 32, and base plate 22-and bottom plate 23 are spaced apart by a plain ring 50; The hydraulic cylinder 49 and linkage 42 and 45 are eliminated, and in its place a motor 51 is integrally secured to the top face 22a of base plate 22 having bevel gear and shaft means 52 for rotating pinion 33 in place. Pinion 33 is in meshed engagement with sun gear 30 and is accordingly adapted to rotate sun gear 30 any multiple of 360 degrees about its axis.

Whereas the first embodiment of this invention-is designed to rotate an implement approximately degrees, thereby accomplishing a reversal of the implementsrelative position, this last described embodiment: enables:

the implement to be rotated continuouslyin either direction.

The advantages and. theuses of thesetwo embodiments.

of this invention will be readily appreciated by those. skilled. in theart. It is contemplated that many new and hitherto impossible operations may be improvised with the use of this invention to meet varied conditions.

encountered on the many typesof job locations where this device will be found to be particularly applicable.

It is furthermore understood that the forms of this invention, herewith shown and described are to be-taken as preferredexamples of the same and that various: changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may. beresorted to, without departing from the spirit of this? invention or the scope ofthe sub-joined claims.

I claim:

1. A power shovel boom attachment comprising .a dipper stick pivotally attachable to the free end of a power shovel boom, and means secured tosaid dipper stick for imparting multi-directional movement to a digging device including a base plate, a sun gear rotatably secured to said base plate; internal ring gear means. integrally se cured to' said base plate concentricrwith and having a greater radius than said snn gear,. a planetary pinion gear. disposed intermediate said sun gearand :said ringl gear so as to mesh with said first mentioned gears, meansfor rotating, saidpinion gear on said ring gear wherein: said pinion gear rotatably drives said sun gear,= bracket means integral with said base platefor. pivotallattach ment to one end of said dipper stickubrackettrneans: secured to said'sun gear IfOI attaching digginglrneans thereto, and means for pivoting said'baselplate about' said end of saiddipper stick.

2. vThe apparatus set forth in claim 1, said means for rotating said pinion gear on said ring gear comprising a pinion shaft integral-with said pinion gean said base plate beingislotted to provide-clearance for saidlshaft, a hydraulic cylindersecuredxto said base plate, a hydraulic cylinder piston; linkage means securing.-said piston to said pinion shaft, whereby movement of said' piston will cause said linkage to move said; pinion shaft and rotate said pinion: gear on said ring gear.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2, saidpinionshaft being guided in the clearance insaid'base plate by a pair of sliding shoes secured about said shaft and. spaced apart so as to engage said base plate therebetween.

4. A power shovel boom attachment comprising; a dipper stick pivotally attachable to the boomof a power; shovel, a base plate, bracket means:extendingiaupwardly. from: said base plate for mounting ,the lattelrons said dipper stick for pivotal movement about a substantially,

horizontal axis, means connected with said dipper stick and said base plate for pivoting the latter with respect to the former, a second plate spaced below said base plate, a central gear mounted between said plates for rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the pivotal axis of said base plate, means securing said second plate in spaced relation to said base plate, said securing means being spaced outwardly from the periphery of said central gear and arranged to enclose the latter between said plates, said second plate having a central opening therein of a size smaller than the size of said central gear, bracket means extending downwardly from said central gear through said central opening for attaching digging means thereto, a pinion gear in meshing engagement with said central gear, and means for rotating said pinion gear to drive said central gear.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said rotating means comprises a shaft secured to said pinion and extending through said base plate, and a motor carried by said base plate operatively connected with said shaft. 20

the axis of rotation of said central gear as a center, and

means including a hydraulic ram for moving said shaft within said slot whereby said gear segment will impart a rotary motion to said pinion gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 958,646 Johnston May 17, 1910 1,327,324 Hecker Ian. 6, 1920 2,109,388 Heller Feb. 22, 1938 2,522,466 Schneider Sept. 12, 1950 2,639,048 Glashaw May 19, 1953 2,639,826 Welden May 26, 1953 

